


What friends are for

by Perching_Owl



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Homelessness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-18
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2019-03-20 17:51:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13722909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Perching_Owl/pseuds/Perching_Owl
Summary: After a fire renders Prompto's home unlivable, he begins to struggle.





	What friends are for

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is my first work posted here, meaning I am not entirely sure about warnings/ratings/etc. If I messed up, please let me know. 
> 
> This is a kink-meme fill, which I enjoyed writing and now have cleaned up. The post basically asks for homeless Prompto and him being embarrassed about it, but if you want to read it in full either head over to the kink-meme at 
> 
> https://ffxv-kinkmeme.dreamwidth.org/3016.html?thread=1843144#cmt1843144 
> 
> or have a look in the notes in the end.

'Damn, you are early again, boy', the old caretaker gives him a smile and then steps away from the now opened door. 

'What can I say? I need to get that hour of study in,' Prompto returns the smile while his hand runs through the hair on the back of his neck. It's a nervous gestures he knows he shouldn't do because it's like the most obvious tell anyone could have. However, the caretaker apparently doesn't care about that, instead simply wishing him a good day and success with his studies. 

Prompto smiles. He hopes it doesn't look as forced as it is. Then he makes his way to his locker. It's the only place he has where he feels able to leave his things and have them remain there until he shows up again. Still, he takes a quick look around to ensure there is no one nearby. 

With a sigh he begins to fumble with the look. It takes three tries to open the combination lock and he feels frustration boiling inside of him. He is exhausted. Everything hurts and he is hungry. But first things first. 

Inside his locker are his textbook, his second and clean school uniform, his laptop and his most precious possession - his camera. It's not even an expensive camera, just a small digital one with only a digital zoom and it's not even second hand. Maybe fourth or fifth. But it is his and his alone. He leaves it in his locker, takes the uniform out of the locker and puts the recently cleaned on in. 

Then he goes into the boy's bathroom to change out of his sports gear. It will need to get washed soon, especially if they do an intensive workout today in running. That means he will need take both of his school uniforms with him, which means he needs to get a plastic bag because his backpack is not big enough, but an additional back means one more thing to look out for and one hand less and- 

Prompto sinks down onto the toilet seat and buries his head in his hands. He feels a sob nearly breaking free, but he presses his lips tightly together. No, he cannot give into the tears because then he will not stop crying. He has classes in less than an hour. His thoughts drift back to the fire anyway. He can still smell the smoke, still see the flames lapping up the structure and still hear the sirens and the general cacophony of noises, which accompanied the burning down of his home. 

It hasn't been his fault. That's the only silver lining at the horizon. It hasn't been his fault and no one has died. He cannot even feel anger at what happened or at the boy who wanted to surprise his parents and set the house next door on fire. He is also glad the fire didn't spread to more than the three adjacent homes. No one had been killed and the kid only had a minor smoke inhalation and would be out of the hospital. That had made Prompto glad and he had relaxed, believing the insurance will come through quickly enough. 

That lasted until the insurance company phoned him and basically told him they wouldn't be able to pay immediately because there was still an investigation ongoing. And no - they would not be able to pay for a hotel room in advance, but he was more than welcome to collect the recipes from any hotel stay and they could return some percentage of it. That was the moment, Prompto realised he was in deep shit. 

It has been close to a month after the fire. 

It has roughly three weeks since he first slept in a shelter. 

It has been nearly two and a half weeks since someone at the shelter pulled a knife at him and made him handover the food Prompto had just been given. 

It has been nearly two weeks since Prompto has slept out in the streets for the first time. 

It has been nearly a week since Prompto has been nearly mugged again, this time while trying to sleep in the entrance to a house. 

It has been three days ago since someone threw a stone at him as he tried to find a place to settle down for the night and he had taken his things and ran, the stone not even hitting him, but rattling him nevertheless. 

But he will manage to get through this. He needs to. And at the moment nobody has noticed. He manages to hide the fact that he is homeless by washing one of his uniforms daily. It isn't expensive, especially since the owner of the laundromat lets him stick around and help her with the cleaning service she runs from next door. That job also gives him the odd leftovers, which is nice because he cannot keep feeding himself on the cafeteria stuff in high school and Ignis' cooking. It also takes four to five hours away from the time he spends on the streets. If he can manage he drops by Noctis, who lets him use the washing machine, gives him a good place to do his homework and even lets him shower so he doesn't need to that after track running practice in the overcrowded washing room of the school. 

But maybe nobody noticing is down to luck. Surely Noctis hasn't complained when he stopped by more often than usual, but Ignis has given a few more calculating looks, but otherwise remained silent. Maybe the advisor suspects something is up, but cannot prove anything. 

The first bell rings. Prompto flinches. He hasn't realised how long he spend on the toilet. With a sigh, he packs his stuff. Hopefully running is going to be an easy work out. He really doesn't want to carry around another bag for a day. Stopping by his locker, he puts his backpack away and takes out his pencils, math book and notepad. 

Noctis is already sitting in class, at the very back and looks like he is about to fall asleep. Prompto runs up to him, gives him a pat on the shoulder and then sinks down next to him. 'Hey, sleepy prince, how is it going?' 

'Morning, I'm so tired.' 

'Ignis got you working late?' 

'Not really - but dad's council meeting took so long and I wanted to talk to him. So, I was up late.' 

'Something important you two needed to talk about?' 

Noctis pauses, then says: 'Actually I simply wanted to talk to him. My apartment, university and such.' He yawns. 'Six, I'm really looking forward to the Saturday. Sleeping in sounds great. What about you?'

'Hm, me?' 

'Yeah, what do you plan on doing the weekend?' 

Prompto pauses. He wants to say, he is going to play video games, sleep in, have a lazy Sunday. He wants to stay, he is going to spend most of the weekend in the park, at the laundromat, standing in line at the shelter. But he cannot. He should be grateful enough he is friends with the prince - no, with Noctis. So instead of saying anything, he shrugs. 

'Want to come over?' 

'If you want to have me,' Prompto replies. 

'Course - you could even spend the weekend at my place. We could play video games. Ignis said I won't have to read anything until Sunday, but I need to learn for school. Also, we still have that history assignment we need to do.' 

'Yeah, I totally forgot about that.' 

'We could probably ask Ignis.' 

Prompto opens his mouth to argue against annoying the royal advisor, but the bell rings the same moment the door to the classroom slams shut and then the lesson begins. Noctis has fallen asleep ten minutes in, so Prompto takes notes for the both of them. He makes them easy enough to follow so Noctis can give them a read later on. 

The day passes slowly. In the lesson before lunch, Noctis even manages to stay up, but that is probably because there are not sitting at the back of the class, but otherwise school is dragging on. At lunch Prompto realises he has left what little money he has at the locker and tracks back. 

Noctis calls after him not to bother, but Prompto waves him off, instead intend on hurrying down the corridor. He has his own money, he can pay for lunch, even if Noctis offers. Besides, if he uses Noctis' money, how long will it take until the prince is fed up with that? He remembers all too well Noctis' dismissive nature of people, who are only interested him being the prince and the money that comes along with being it. 

Thankfully his locker is free of people so nobody sees him fumble with the locks. He takes a bit of money out. It should cover a salad even though he prefers something more filling. Running back towards the cafeteria, he doesn't watch where he is going, takes a corner too fast and clips another guy. 

'Sorry,' he throws over his shoulder, but a hand on his shoulder holds him back. 

'Hey!' 

Prompto whirls around. 

Somehow the two guys look familiar. They are both on one of the sports teams, but he has seen them more recently. One of them is tall, but well-muscled, while the other is shorter and built more compact.

'You look familiar,' Tall says. He is holding onto Prompto's shoulder. 

'You that homeless boy, aren't you?' Shorty frowns. He pushes off from the wall. 'You tried to settle in that entrance and someone threw a stone at you.' Here he nudges Tall, who grins. 

Prompto feels heat rush into his cheeks. He can't even tell if that is anger or humiliation. 'I am not homeless!' He tries to break away from Tall, but the other one holds onto him. 

'I didn't get him, did I?' Tall says, turning to Shorty. 

Shorty laughs. 'Now you have the chance.' 

'Yeah, I don't think so.'

Prompto's eyes go wide as he hears Noctis' drawl - just as Tall and Shorty do. The duo turns around. 

'That's the prince?' Tall stammers while Shorty remains silent. Only his bulging eyes and pale face betray his fear. 

'Yes, I think you better leave. Or I bother finding out your names and ensure you are gone from this school.' Noctis eyes flash. Prompto isn't entirely sure that it isn't magic. It is more than enough for Tall and Shorty starting to scramble. They leave Prompto behind. His face is burning, most of it in anger, some of it however definitely feels closer to shame. 

He turns to Noctis and tries his best smile, while rubbing the back of his neck. 'You don't believe what they say, do you?' 

Noctis pauses. He opens his mouth, then says: 'Well, I've been wondering about it for a while. Why didn't you tell me about the fire?' 

Prompto opens his mouth, his heart is beating in his chest and his mouth goes dry. His knees are shaky, his pulse is pounding in his ears. Noct shouldn't have found about that. Now he is going to lose his best friend as well. Noctis will not want to have him around him any longer - just someone, who lives off him. They will not play video games any longer, will not spend afternoons at the arcade, will no longer learn together, laugh together- 

'Hey, hey, breathe, Prompto, I'm here, we will figure this out.' Noct's voice penetrates through the frog around Prompto's brain. He does, inhaling shakily. He doesn't feel very well. 

'Just breathe, in and out,' Noct's breathing is exaggerated, but focusing on it helps. A breath in, a breath out. Another inhale, another exhale. He finds himself sitting on the floor, head between his legs, Noctis' arm around his shoulders. 

After a few more breaths, Prompto feels well enough to look up and well- he doesn't manage to look Noctis in the eyes, but the collar is a start. He opens his mouth to say something, but no words come out of his mouth. 

'Yes, he is looking better. Can you pick us up?' 

Prompto frowns. He glances up. Noctis is on his phone, voice calm, but gaze worried. He smiles at Prompto, who looks down again. Noct knows, he-

'Hey, you did breathing well until now. Don't stop.' 

Prompto nods. Tries to take another deep breath in. Then looks down again. His hands are shaking. He bites his lips as his vision gets blurry from unshed tears. Probably the same from this morning. 

'Hey, it's going to be fine. We will deal with this.' 

'No, I'm already dealing with this,' Prompto bursts out. 'I can do this. I simply need the money from the insurance company and then I am fine.'

'But what are you doing until then?' 

'I've been getting along fine.' 

'Does fine mean getting stones thrown at you?' 

'It was once and I am sure it won't happen again.' Prompto bites his lips again, he looks down and plays with his wristband. 

'Well, let's get to your locker, get your things and then come to my apartment.' 

'What? I cannot do that!' Prompto's is shocked enough he looks up. He meets Noct's blue eyes. They are determined. 

'Why not?' 

'Because I would be taking advantage of you? Duh,' Prompto replies. His voice doesn't sound as flippant as he hoped. It sounds a lot younger and higher than usual though. 

'Prompto - I'm offering, you won't be taking advantage of me. I don't think you are capable of taking advantage of anyone. You are the most selfless person I know. Now, come on. Let's get you to my place.' 

'But-' 

'Hey,' Noct smiles. 'Don't make me call my dad and make the king order you.' He stands up, grabbing Prompto's hands and pulling him up. Prompto sways on his feet, but Noctis' grip doesn't waver. The prince shifts his grip so he is holding onto Prompto's elbow before pulling him along towards the locker. 

Prompto doesn't protest. He is exhausted - be that from sleeping rough, his panicking or from protesting. Which he apparently is not allowed to that as he opens his mouth and is hushed by Noctis: 'Just get your things.' 

Prompto nods. He opens his locker and gathers his things and puts them in his backpack. He is about to put it on his back, when Noctis takes it from him and shoulders it. 

'The bags aren't as heavy, are they?' Prompto starts, shaking his head. 'I can-' 

Noctis smiles at him, hand on his shoulder: 'But you don't have to.' 

Prompto is led out of the school by Noctis to the front gates. In front of the school, waits Ignis leaning against the car, arms crossed, but gaze behind the glasses gentle. He opens the boot where Noctis puts his backpack and then makes sure, Prompto is sitting comfortably while Noctis hops in. 

The drive itself is mostly a blur for Prompto. He is tired and quite sure he dropped off at some point because he hears Noctis and Ignis talking. It's quiet, so he cannot make out any words and concentrating seems to be too much right now. Noct's car is nice. It's warmed by the sun with soft leather seats, the air condition is on as well and soft music is playing over the speakers. Furthermore it is safe. Ignis is driving and Noct's is there with him. 

At some point, Noctis shakes him gently. 'Hey, let's get you into a proper bed.' 

Prompto yawns. Sleepily he looks around. There are in the garage of Noctis' apartment building and he cannot even recall taking the last turn, which usually wakes him up. He manages to get out of the car. His legs have been replaced by rubber though. Noctis is again close to him, Prompto's backpack slung over his shoulder. Ignis has already called the lift. He is also carrying another one of Prompto's bags, which puts him at ease. 

By the six, he is exhausted - absolutely drained. He leans against the back of the lift and the doors close behind them and don't open until they reach the floor with Noctis' apartment. 

Ignis walks ahead while Noctis stays close to Prompto. He is hustled into the apartment and though it takes time to take off his shoes he manages. Ignis meanwhile has moved into the kitchen while Noctis also has disappeared. Where to the blonde isn't sure, but then Noct appears from the guest bedroom. 

'I put your things down in here. You can stay here as long as you need. I don't mind.' 

'I can pay you rent though.' 

'It's okay - it's what friends are for,' Noctis is again guiding him. This time towards the guest bedroom. While he is pulled along by the prince, Noctis tells him: 'Ignis is making lunch. He noticed you look thinner so apparently that warrants pie. Until then you can take a nap - the bags underneath your eyes have bags.'

'I don't have a pair of pyjamas.' 

'Look, just take a nap - I look through my things. I'm sure there is something you can wear. Now, sleep.' Noctis pushes him onto the bed and Prompto goes willingly. He curls into a ball. He doesn't even bother with crawling beneath the sheets. It's soft and so different from the hard floors. A blanket is dropped over him and he mutters a soft 'Thank you.' 

'Don't worry, Prompto. Sleep tight.'

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading :) I hope you enjoyed it. 
> 
> Here is the prompt:  
> (I dunno what prompto's actual situation is with his parents, but I like the fanon idea that he's an orphan and living off social assistance)
> 
> Basically, the low-income housing apartment Prompto's been living in gets condemned/there's a fire/something happens and Prompto suddenly finds himself without a home.
> 
> While searching for a new one he goes between living on the actual streets, to staying in shelters, so staying over at Noct's. He keeps all his worldly possessions in a locker at school, and the rest in his backpack (the rest had to be left behind).
> 
> He's so damn embarrassed that he doesn't tell anyone, but Noct definitely notices an uptick in the amount of time Prompto stays there, and how he's started showing there and how thin and tired he looks.
> 
> https://ffxv-kinkmeme.dreamwidth.org/3016.html?thread=1843144#cmt1843144


End file.
